


A Fool Who's Willing (to Sit Around and Wait for You)

by lettersfromnowhere



Series: Starmora Oneshots [5]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Grease - Freeform, Pure Unadulterated Fluff, Sickfic, i guess?, the 1950s as explained by Peter Quill, what is this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-18
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2019-06-12 07:16:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15334674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lettersfromnowhere/pseuds/lettersfromnowhere
Summary: "'So there are…people bursting into song for no reason?' Gamora asked, nonplussed. 'That sounds unrealistic.''Yeah, that’s kinda the point. It’s fun,' Peter countered. 'Trust me. Why would you have talking when you can have songs?'"OR, a flu-stricken Peter attempts to explain an iconic Terran film, Gamora finds this all illogical, and 'You're the One That I Want' is entirely butchered.





	A Fool Who's Willing (to Sit Around and Wait for You)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Wawa_Girl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wawa_Girl/gifts).



> You may have seen an anon message on a popular Starmora Tumblr about this. That was yours truly. I don't know if this was a prudent decision, but the idea that Peter had likely seen Grease (it was released in '78) and would 100% obnoxiously serenade Gamora with "You're the One That I Want" popped into my head and refused to leave. Enjoy at your own risk. 
> 
> Title is from "Hopelessly Devoted to You."

“I’m sick.”

 

“Or it’s your turn to sanitize the ship today and you need an excuse not to,” Gamora replied.

 

“Nah,” Peter said, trying so hard to sound pathetic that it nearly convinced her. “’m really sick. Feel m’forehead. It’s burning up.”

 

Gamora shook her head skeptically but obliged and pressed the back of her hand to his forehead, recoiling at its surprising heat. “Okay, so you actually may have a fever,” she admitted, still too bitter at being proven wrong to let her concern show. “What exactly is wrong with you?”

 

“B’sides the fever, my entire body hurts,” Peter whined. “Oh, and I’ve also got chills.”

 

“All common symptoms, right? Nothing to worry about?” Gamora said, letting her guarded disaffection slip slightly. Peter smirked. “What now?”

 

“They’re multiplying,” Peter said smugly.

 

“That doesn't make any sense," Gamora replied. "Is that a reference of some sort?” She shook her head. Only Peter would attempt to turn illness into an allusion; this one, though, was unfamiliar. 

 

“Yeah – wait, I haven’t told you about tha’ song?” Peter asked, appearing rather shocked at his own neglect.

 

Gamora sighed, fully aware of where this was headed. “No, you haven’t.” She took a seat on the end of his bed. “What is that line from?”

 

“I really can’t believe I haven’t told you about Grease,” Peter said, disproportionately disappointed in himself for the magnitude of his ‘mistake.’ “It’s a masterpiece of Terran cinema.”

 

“I notice you’ve stopped slurring your words,” Gamora commented flatly. “Improving?”

 

“Nah, I just needed to convince you that I was actually sick,” Peter replied. “Anyway, Grease. You have no idea what that is, I just remembered. So it was this movie from Earth, a musical-“

 

“What’s that?” Gamora asked.

 

“Right. I haven’t explained the genres to you yet. Note to self: do that,” Peter said. “It’s a kind of movie that uses songs to tell the story. So all the characters sing, and usually dance, too. It’s great.”

 

“So there are…people bursting into song for no reason?” Gamora asked, nonplussed. “That sounds unrealistic.”

 

“Yeah, that’s kinda the point. It’s fun,” Peter countered. “Trust me. Why would you have talking when you can have _songs?”_

“I’ll take your word for it,” Gamora said indulgently, “but how does this relate to your fever symptoms procreating?”

 

“So Grease is a musical, like I said. And that line is from one of the songs,” Peter explained. “In that one – wait, that won’t make any sense if I don’t explain the plot. Got an hour?”

 

“Several,” Gamora said. “Not much going on right now.”

 

“Perfect.” Peter gestured for her to come closer; she shook her head – _I don’t want whatever you have._

“Heeeeeyyy,” he whined. “Cuddling is the best cure for all ailments!”

 

“Peter, if I get sick, this ship is going to be coated in a foot-deep layer of trash within a day that it’ll take me a month to clean up,” Gamora sighed. “I’m not” – he shot her his best _pity me, I’m pathetic and adorable_ look – “I truly hate you.”

 

She moved to the other side of the bed and stretched out next to him.

 

“Victory!” Peter crowed, moving to lean against her side. “Now, this story happened about thirty years before I was born, when the earth was ruled by a gang of valiant warriors called the T-Birds.”

  
“That is not a very threatening name for a band of warriors,” Gamora commented; if she was going to humor him in part, she figured, she’d best humor him in full.

 

“They were _awesome,_ man,” Peter said, the delirious grin Gamora had come to love spreading across his features. “They rode motorcycles and went out with hot women. And their leader– well, he was this…irresistible bad boy. Kind of an outlaw.” He wagged his eyebrows dramatically.

 

“Irresistible? Hardly,” Gamora said smugly.

 

 _“Hey!”_ Peter glared at her woundedly. “Okay, so anyway. The movie starts in the summer, and the leader – Danny, that was his name – meets this girl, Sandy, who’s like, really innocent and stuff, and they fall in love, but they think they’ll never see each other after the summer ends because she’s from another country and has to go back, and–“

 

“Why would you fall in love with someone you were never going to see again? That is a terrible idea,” Gamora decided.

 

“You can’t control your feelings, Gamora!” Peter pressed a hand to his heart melodramatically. “Anyway, the school year starts again, and it turns out that they’re now going to the same school, so that’s a thing now. And we meet their friends – Sandy’s with this group that’s, y’know, not at all like her, and of course, there are the T-Birds.”

 

“And this relates to that line you quoted how?” Gamora asked.

 

“Be patient! I’ve gotta give you the background first,” Peter told her. “Anyway. So they’re together again, and their friends introduce them at a pep rally-“

 

“A what?”

 

“Pep rallies were these things they had at schools on earth to get people pumped up for sports games,” Peter explained. “Oh yeah, schools have sports teams, if I didn’t tell you that. That’s gonna be important later on. So anyway, their friends introduce them at the pep rally, and Danny’s kind of cold to Sandy because he wants to look cool and all.”

 

“I don’t understand why being rude to a former flame would improve his social standing,” Gamora commented.

 

“Yeah, it’s ‘cause she was, like, all innocent, the ‘good girl’ type, and he’s this slick motorcycle dude. He’s kinda not supposed to associate with people like that,” Peter explained. “She’s not exactly cool.”

  
“Still stupid,” Gamora concluded. “Do they get back together?”

 

“Patience, milady,” Peter sighed. “After that, the Pink Ladies – they’re, like, the female counterparts of the T-Birds – have a sleepover and invite Sandy, and the T-Birds show up. This is where it gets so complicated that I can’t keep it all straight, since I was eight when I saw this last, so the next thing that I remember is Danny trying to join a sports team to impress Sandy, who I’m pretty sure rejected him at some point before that.”

 

“So he still has feelings for her?” Gamora’s expression grew ever more puzzled. “I’m very confused about where they stand.”

 

“He does, and it sort of works. They go on a date and all of their friends crash it, and then there’s a dance. They have a dance-off-“

 

“No wonder you like this movie,” Gamora sighed in mock disgust.

 

“You know it,” he replied. “After the dance, Danny tries to kiss Sandy and she freaks out, which, of course, makes _him_ freak out.”

 

“Remind you of anything?” Gamora asked, smirking.

 

“Oh, yeah, on _several_ levels,” Peter replied cheekily. “I don’t really remember why, but these kids always seem to be drag-racing, and Sandy watches Danny win a race at the end and basically decides to change her entire personality to impress him.”

 

“Sandy seems to need to reset her priorities,” Gamora commented.

 

“Okay, I know that’s a terrible idea, but it _works_ in the movie,” Peter protested. “They go to this carnival after they graduate, and Sandy gets a makeover and shows up in this skin-tight bodysuit and for some reason this fixes everything between her and Danny, and they go off together at the end.”

 

“I’m not even going to try to make sense of that,” Gamora said. “She shows up in a revealing outfit and suddenly everything is fine?”

 

“Yeah, I never said it made any sense,” Peter replied. “Well, actually, I was, like, eight when I saw this, so I’m probably forgetting whatever made it make sense. But yeah. Weird, huh?”

 

“You still haven’t told me about the song you quoted,” Gamora reminded him.

  
“Oh yeah!” Peter’s entire face lit up. “So when Sandy comes out in that outfit, she and Danny sing this song together, _You’re the One that I Want._ Danny sings that line when he sees her, at the beginning of the song.”

 

“That makes even _less_ sense in context.”

 

“Nah, it makes perfect sense,” Peter said. “’I’ve got chills, they’re multiplying.’ He sees her looking like a million bucks and gets chills. Like I did that time you tried to murder me.”

 

“Is this the fever talking or do you actually…?” Gamora asked, only half surprised.

 

“Oh no, I meant that.”

  
“And which time? I can think of at least eight.”  

 

“All of them,” Peter replied.

 

“You are truly ridiculous,” Gamora said fondly. “And now that you’re done explaining that, you should probably get some sleep.”

 

“No.”

 

“Peter,” Gamora warned.

 

“Fine.”

 

* * *

 

“And I’m _LOOOOSING CON-TRO-OL!”_

Gamora woke with a start to the sound of Peter’s obnoxiously loud and painfully off-key voice as he belted out the unfamiliar song blaring over the speakers.

 

“ _Peter!”_ she shouted. “What are you doing and is it necessary to do it so _loudly_?” The song continued to play; evidently he couldn’t hear her over the speakers’ full-volume blast of music. Sighing, Gamora threw back her sheets and stormed into the common area.

 

“Peter!” she called again. He looked up and grinned, not moving to turn down the music.

 

“You better shape up, you better _UNDERSTAND!”_ he sang, gesturing towards her dramatically. “To my _HEART_ I must be _truuuuuuue!”_

“Peter, what is this?” Gamora shouted over the music. “It is _far too early_ to be blasting out our eardrums!”

 

“You’re the one that I want, ooh-ooh-ooh!” he continued, still ignoring her. Gamora’s face went slack with the realization.

 

“…this is that Grease song, isn’t it?” she sighed.

 

“The one and only!” Peter yelled.

 

“Turn the music down before we both lose our voices trying to talk over it,” Gamora ordered, fixing him with her best death glare.

 

“Ugh.” Peter shuffled to the speakers and dialed down the volume to a semi-reasonable setting.

 

“Thank you,” Gamora said primly. “Now, that was the Grease song, right?”

 

“Yeah! You like it?” Peter asked.

 

“It’s an enjoyable tune,” Gamora admitted. “Although the movie that it is from still seems like a nonsensical series of coincidences strung together.”

 

“I’m making you watch that someday,” Peter muttered. “You’ll see, believe me. But for now…”

 

“Don’t you do it,” Gamora hissed. Ignoring her, Peter traipsed over to the speakers and cranked the volume dial all the way up again.

 

“I better shape _up,_ ‘cause you _NEED_ a _MAN!”_ he sang, at least three keys off if in any key at all.

 

“I don’t think I’m ever going to escape this song,” Gamora mumbled to herself, turning to go anywhere where its volume would be less deafening than it was here.

 

“Hey!” Peter called after her. “Don’t you want to be serenaded?”

 

“Stop trying my patience, Peter!” she called. But she couldn’t fight the smile off her face.

**Author's Note:**

> Gifted to @wawa_girl because her insistence that I actually write something about this ridiculous headcanon of mine was the impetus for my writing this. It was her idea that Peter would have a ridiculous explanation of what the 1950s were like, so props for that.


End file.
